Local animal rescue gives new life to emaciated dog found with gunshot wound

MIAMI - She's a happy, playful dog named Karma. Jessie Paige is her foster mom.

"She's got energy, she wants to play. She loves men and toys. Her favorite thing in the world is tall men and rope toys," Paige laughed.

This is Karma today, a couple of months ago she looked very different. She was left tied up outside Lauderhill Fire Station 30.  She was filled with parasites, had a life-threatening uterine infection and she was starving.

"She was overbred, she had parametria and she was emaciated, skin and bones," said Cindy Mucciaccio with IHeart Animal Rescue .

She jumped into action to get Karma the care she needed.  After life-saving surgery, Karma was still having problems., That's when vets made a disturbing discovery,

She had a gunshot wound.

"We noticed that where it went into her neck, someone shot her right here," she pointed, "and it made a hole in the back of her mouth," Mucciaccio said.

The Brady Hunter Foundation financed the next surgery. It was to repair that gunshot wound that left an opening in her pallet and to deal with shrapnel embedded in her head.

"Each and every case we hear about is more and more gut-wrenching than that last one. Unfortunately, this is becoming way too prevalent," said Paige Bresky with the Brady Hunter Foundation.

Despite her troubles, Karma is well on the road to recovery and it looks like she found a forever home with her foster mom.

"I think she's as foster fail," Jessie laughed. "If I'm behind honest, I don't think she's going anywhere," she said.

No word on who shot Karma or who dropped her at the fire station.